Lint
by CraicHazzard
Summary: “Look at it, Vince!” Cid breathed, eyes sparkling. “The whole world… and it’s mine! ...heh, ours, I mean.” Drabbles and short stories featuring the oh-so-loveable cast of FFVII. There WILL be Valenwind, Cloud/Reno, and whatever else tickles my fancy.
1. Horizon

**Lint**

If you have an allergy to Valenwind, Cloud/Reno or slash pairings in general, then don't read this. Don't come crying to me when you get a nasty rash.

_xxx_

**1. Horizon**

"Look at it, Vince!" Cid breathed, his eyes sparkling, one arm draped over the wheel of the _Shera_, the other wrapped tightly around his lover's waist as the ship burst through the clouds and into the bright sunshine. Vincent gently lifted an elegant hand to shield his eyes as golden sunlight filled the bridge of the airship. The world stretched out like a vast carpet below them, the glassy sea glittering in the distance as the Shera roared overhead. "The whole world... and it's mine..." Vincent smiled a little. "Ours, I mean." Cid amended, giving the taller man's waist a gentle squeeze. "So... we're free at last, eh? Where do you want to go first?"

"I don't mind." Vincent responded automatically. Cid turned his head and shot him an incredulous look.

"What? There's gotta be somewhere you want to go!"

Vincent folded his arms elegantly. "Why don't you choose?"

"I ask you where you want to go, and you've got the whole fuckin' planet to choose from, and you want ME to choose for you?" Cid glowered for a moment, but soon sighed and shook his head.

"You're flying the ship." The caped man's mild response made Cid throw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"A'right, _fine_. I'm taking you to Costa del Sol." He decided, and went over to check the large world map he had posted on the cabin door. A soft sigh from behind interrupted him. "Somethin' wrong?"

"Costa del Sol is so _hot_ this time of year…" Vincent pointed out. Cid huffed and turned back to the map.

"Awright… what about Kalm?" Vincent wrinkled his nose slightly, and Cid's eyes narrowed. "Vince, I swear, if you don't suggest something in the next ten seconds, I'm taking you to the goddamn Golden Sau – _shit_!" he ducked and held up his hands as Vincent abruptly drew his gun, aiming it right at Cid's forehead. "I was jes' kidding!" he protested shakily.

"Move over, Chief. I'm going to settle this now." Cid followed the taller man's gaze and sighed loudly in relief when he realised Vincent was aiming for the map directly behind him. Once Cid had returned to his spot at the ship's wheel, Vincent stepped forward, shut his eyes, and pulled the trigger.

The noise made Cid wince and cover his ears, instantly regretting his decision to let Vincent carry Cerberus inside his beloved airship. He glanced back over to the map, now with a neat, smoking bullet hole almost directly in the centre. When he saw where it was, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. Vincent's crimson eyes widened when he finally opened them and saw the reason for Cid's outburst.

"Look out, Costa del Sol, here we come!" Cid drawled, grinning almost ear-to-ear and seizing the wheel of the _Shera _once more. Vincent glowered at him as he re-holstered his weapon. "Ah, don't look like that, Vince. Yer aim was _perfect_!" he chortled.

xxx

**2. Reasons**

Even though Vincent had decided long ago that he was neither able nor worthy to love or be loved by anyone, Cid had time and time again proved him wrong over the few years they'd been together.

Like the time he woke alone one morning to find a note pinned to Cid's pillow, labeled "10 reasons why I love Vampy Valentine" in an apparent attempt at gothic lettering. Underneath it, Cid had slipped another one, this time headed with "10 more reasons why I love Vampy Valentine."

Vincent had felt his heart swell with inexplicable warmth as he read them, even if the hated nickname had almost killed the moment.

xxx

**3. Bump **(Cloud/Reno)

Reno always told Cloud that he should smile more often.

"It suits you." He said earnestly, in a rare moment of seriousness. He rolled over onto his side so he could watch the other man's reaction.

"I smile enough." Cloud objected, leaning against the bedhead and frowning thoughtfully at nothing in particular.

"Oh, sure." Reno scoffed, and sat up to press his forehead against the blonde's. "When you're taking the piss out of me." Cloud rubbed small circles on his boyfriend's lower back as they kissed. However, Reno was not one to be deterred. "When was the last time you smiled, _really_ smiled, just 'cause you were happy, huh?"

"I…" for once, it was Reno who got to crow triumphantly as Cloud found himself at a loss for words. Cloud rolled his eyes.

"You're so immature." He informed the man grinning down at him. Reno only proved this when he stuck his tongue out. "I do _too_ smile." He added, before the redhead in his arms could say anything.

"Now who's immature?" the other man teased. Cloud just leaned over and flicked the switch on his bedside lamp, plunging the bedroom they shared into darkness.

"Goodnight Reno."

"Hmph, _fine_ then. C'mere." Reno leaned down for a kiss, but yelped as he hit his forehead against the bedhead with a sudden '_thonk_'. "Ouch! You _moved_!"

Cloud laughed until tears fan down his face.

xxx

**4. Dawn**

Cid Highwind, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed and bristly captain of the appropriately named airship, the _Highwind, _looked much less intimidating when he was curled up in the pilot seat under a green fuzzy blanket and wearing a goofy, contented smile on his face. It seemed almost a shame to wake the man. Almost.

"Chief, wake up." Short and to the point; the only way to communicate with a groggy Highwind. Cid muttered something unintelligible and probably rude, and shifted in his seat to face the opposite direction from whoever was interrupting his pleasant blue-coloured, sky-filled dreams. Vincent fought the urge to roll his eyes and promptly yanked the blankets away, dumping them unceremoniously on the floor. Cid groaned, groping around blindly for a moment with his eyes tightly shut, while the man standing over him looked on with a mix of amusement and exasperation plastered on his usually stoic face. "It's dawn. Cloud and the others will be up in a minute, and they won't be happy to see you sleeping on the job… not while you're supposed to be flying the ship."

"Bah, 's on autopilot." The blonde man grumbled, reaching for his pack of cigarettes before realising it wasn't in its usual place. "…The fu – …oh hell no! Vin, you give those back!" he scowled muzzily in Vincent's general direction. Vincent just held the contested object out of the pilot's reach, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"Isn't it a little early to be smoking?"

"It's never too early!" Cid snatched feebly at the packed in Vincent's hand, but the gunman's superior reflexes won as he jerked them away. "_Sonuva_–"

"I'll give them back… when you're awake." Cid just snorted and turned over, curling back up on his seat, minus the blanket Valentine had swiped from him. Realising the pilot probably had a spare packet tucked away somewhere, Vincent growled darkly and proceeded to glare daggers at the back of Cid's head. "Get _up_." He insisted.

"...You gonna make me?" Cid wondered aloud; rather childishly in Vincent's opinion.

"No, but I expect Chaos would love to." Cid peeked over his shoulder to check if the man was smiling, and Vincent carefully arranged his face so that he was most definitely _not_.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up." Cid finally grumbled, practically rolling out of his chair. A man of his word, Vincent handed the packet of cigarettes back and stalked away with the intention of finding something edible in the kitchen before Yuffie tried to cook anything.

Later that morning, while Yuffie was waving a tea towel at the smoke detector and Tifa was dutifully scraping the remains of yet another ruined breakfast from a blackened frying pan into the bin, Cid threw down his newspaper onto the table with a sigh. "Y'know, I never can tell if Vince is just bein' playful or if he's gone goddamn insane when he threatens to limit break in the morning." Said gunslinger ignored this, nonchalantly turning the page of the book he was reading.

Tifa held up the frying pan for a moment to inspect it, before dropping it into the bin with an air of defeat. "Cid, as the ship's pilot, it's probably best for everyone if you don't aim to find out."


	2. Narrative

**Lint – Chapter 2**

Yay for Valenwind. I love writing with these guys.

xxx

**5. Narrative**

"…_and then, she heard a very faint noise – something like a drip… drip… drip…"_

"I can see where this is going." Cloud commented with a sigh. The others gave various nods and murmurs of agreement, but Yuffie carried on, torch under her chin, reciting the obviously memorised story in what could possibly pass for an eerie voice.

"…_so she went out and checked the tap in the bathroom… and it was dripping!" _

"When is this goddamn story gonna end?" Cid's voice growled from the other end of the cramped tent. Beside him, Vincent sat huddled in the corner, his head brushing against the tent ceiling in a manner the caped man found quite irritating. It was drizzling with rain outside, and with the number of people squashed into the tent, it was impossible not to press against the walls, inevitably letting the damp in.

"…_but when she turned it off, she could still hear that noise… drip… drip… drip…" _

"Gaia knows." Tifa shrugged. "At least she's enjoying herself." She didn't bother to whisper this; Yuffie was too engrossed in the story she was telling to hear the remark, or perhaps she just didn't care.

"_So she went downstairs to the kitchen tap… and it was dripping too!" _The ninja-turned-storyteller went on, not really noticing that her torch was flickering, probably because the batteries were running out. _"…but when she turned it off –"_

"– the goddamn noise stopped and she went back to sleep. The end." Cid announced at the top of his voice, effectively cutting the younger girl off. She turned and glared at him, the dying torchlight casting odd, grotesque shadows over her youthful face.

"Do you _mind_?" She snapped. The transition of her voice from 'eerie' to 'shrill and peeved' was rather uncanny. "I'm trying to create _ambience_." Surprisingly, Cid quietened back down; blinking at the teenager's oddly sophisticated choice of words. Yuffie cleared her throat and launched straight back into the story as if there had been no interruption. _"But when she turned it off, she could _still_ hear the noise… drip… drip…"_

It was well into the wee hours of the morning when everyone finally returned to their respective tents, stifling yawns and calling out '_g'night_' to each other drowsily as, one by one, the lights in the small camp went out. Cid Highwind was not in a good mood – he was cold and tired, his clothes were damp, and Yuffie had dragged out her 'campfire story', as she called it, for nearly half an hour by describing each and every gory detail with disturbing precision.

The sound of Vincent zipping up the tent joined the faint noise of cicadas and the soft pattering of rain on canvas, and after a few muttered exchanges between the two men, he shut his eyes and let it all fade away as he finally drifted off to sleep.

Then he heard the noise.

_Drip… drip… drip…_

Cid sat bolt upright in his sleeping bag, eyes wide and heart pounding fiercely against his ribcage. On the other side of the tent, Vincent muttered in his sleep, his sleeping-bag rustling softly. Something fell silently onto Cid's head, and the man jumped violently. Then he instantly froze again as he felt something trickle past his ear and down the side of his neck.

The rest of the camp woke with a jolt as a high-pitched, almost inhuman scream filled the air, and a certain young ninja buried her face into her pillow to muffle her triumphant laughter.

xxx

**6. Talent **

Cloud Strife hated the window in his bedroom. No matter how thick the curtains that covered it were, there would always be a chink of light that managed to squeeze through, and it was draughty as hell. (If hell were draughty.) Cloud would fix that himself, but his skills lay in riding fenrirs, dicing up monsters with his buster sword, and looking cool while he was doing it, not DIY.

On the other hand, Cid had argued in his familiar bristly kind of way, Cloud was a man, and men should be good at that kind of thing.

But then, interjected Barret, not all men were as skilled as Cloud at, say, personal hygiene - particularly in the hair department, he added with a grin.

At this, Cid scoffed, and feeling more than a little insulted, Cloud abruptly left the conversation.

Unfortunately he still had a draughty bedroom window that let the light in.

xxx

**7. Obedient **(Cloud/Reno)

Shopping day was perhaps the one day of the week when Cloud wished more than anything that he had chosen something – anything – different to be than a delivery boy. The whole affair bored him – and supermarkets were always bustling, brightly lit, and there would always be some cheesy music playing in the background. Not to mention the chilly frozen food section and inevitable checkout temper-tantrums, when there were small children around. And then there were the stares – yes, unfortunately for the ex-mercenary, most of the other customers were either little old ladies or women with small children. It was as if they couldn't possibly comprehend how a man could turn up at a supermarket on a Saturday morning.

Tifa, on the other hand, had apparently decided long ago that Cloud's delivery-boy skills would be put to better use running errands for her than working for actual paying customers.

At least, that was what Cloud thought to himself sulkily as he picked up the shopping list she had written out for him from its usual place on the refrigerator door.

"Teef, how am I supposed to carry all of those bags on my fenrir?" he had complained the first time Tifa had thrust a list into his hand, frowning slightly at the countless rows of tiny, neatly flowing handwriting that everybody else seemed to be able to decipher but him.

"How do you fight with that sword of yours for hours on end?" Tifa countered. Unsure whether this was a rhetorical question or not, Cloud remained silent, although the words 'great skill and determination' sprang to mind.

Since then, Cloud had mastered the art of transporting plastic bags full of groceries across town with only the aid of his oversized motorcycle and his own creativity. In fact, he had completed his task so well that after he finally staggered back to Seventh Heaven, completely exhausted with the requested goods in his arms, Tifa had proclaimed delightedly that she would never have to close the bar in order to pop out to the local supermarket again. Thus, a weekly tradition was born – much to Cloud's distress.

With Reno in tow, however, this particular shopping trip was destined to be far more eventful.

"Here, since you decided to make a nuisance of yourself and come along, you may as well make yourself useful." Cloud held out a green plastic shopping basket towards his boyfriend, who just ignored it in favour of shooting him a dazzling smile, green eyes twinkling cheekily.

"You say that like you don't want me here!" he cooed, and Cloud rolled his eyes. Reno chose to ignore this, but pointed at the trolleys parked nearby. "Why don't we just take one of those?"

"And have you running over little old ladies with it? No way." Cloud scoffed, and eventually Reno gave an exaggerated sigh and took the proffered basket. "Come on; let's hurry so we can get out of here."

"Sounds good to me."

The first half-hour turned out to be uneventful, and Reno actually proved to be almost… well, helpful, as he traipsed along behind Cloud with his basket, although he snickered like a schoolboy at the brand names on all the different labels and – to Cloud's chagrin – the sausages at the meat counter. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, as Cloud was soon to find out, as they turned down an aisle that was positively crammed with brightly coloured packets containing things that probably tasted good but Tifa didn't approve of.

"Let's get some of these!" Cloud turned back to the leaner man to find him clutching a packet of crisps with an expression of longing on his face. The bag crackled enticingly.

"Let me guess; you're going to cry if I say no."

"Ha ha, you're a real riot, aren't you?" Reno drawled as Cloud took the bag to examine it.

"I can't buy this."

"Why not? You got something against good, old-fashioned junk food?" Cloud shook his head and shrugged.

"Tifa doesn't buy that kind." He sniffed regretfully as he placed the packet back on the shelf. Reno smacked his forehead dramatically. An incredulous groan escaped from around the hand over his face.

"Oh geez. Has she got you whipped, yo." he made an appropriate gesture with his other hand, and Cloud sneered at him.

"Like you can talk – I've seen you out walking Elena's dog."

"That was for her protection! That is one crazy dog, you hear me?"

"It's a spaniel."

"It's bigger up close, alright? Anyway, my point is, _I'm_ not the one with the list." Cloud just rolled his eyes and set off down the aisle, leaving Reno to cope with the heavy baskets on his own. "Hey! _Hey!_ You bastard, you could easily carry these!" Reno staggered along for a few steps, desperately trying to keep the boxes and packages from tumbling to the ground, before setting them back down in exasperation. "Man, what is this anyway?" he held up a packet and glanced over it bemusedly. "Who eats this stuff?" he shook his head as he stuffed them back onto the shelf. "No wonder that chocobo-head's always so grumpy. He needs some real food!"

Had Cloud not been in such a desperate hurry to finish up and return to Seventh Heaven, he might have noticed just how much fuller Reno's basket was compared to his own as they eventually reached the checkout. In fact, he might have wondered how all of those different bags of junk food had somehow wound up there amongst Tifa's favourite muesli bars and tomorrow's dinner, but he was far too preoccupied with berating Reno, who had managed to trip over his own feet, knocking Cloud's wallet out of his hand in the process.

By the time the two men had recovered the Gil strewn across the floor, paid the woman at the counter and finally emerged, exhausted but triumphant into the parking lot, he was far too tired to care.

"We made it!" Reno panted, flopping back against the wall, his shopping bags crumpled in a white, rustling heap at his feet.

"It's not over yet." Cloud warned. "We've got to get all of this back to the bar."

"Uh… yeah. About that." There was a brief pause as Reno bent down to gather up the bags. "How are we going to get this junk all the way back on your Fenrir, yo?" Cloud just smiled mischievously – an expression he had picked up from Reno, no doubt.

"I have my ways. It's not entirely legal, but you'll probably enjoy it."

"If it involves your Fenrir and driving way too fast, then _hell yeah_!" Reno exclaimed happily as they set off in the vague direction of their parking space.

Later that afternoon an utterly exhausted Cloud finally made it through the doors of Seventh Heaven, accompanied by a rather windswept-looking Reno.

"That was so _cool_!" he was grinning madly, although his legs felt like rubber and his hands were shaking furiously. Cloud just grunted something incoherent, and dumped his share of the bags on the tiled floor with a sigh. Reno followed suit.

"Hello boys!" Tifa was sitting in the kitchen, reading a magazine and looking maddeningly relaxed after her day off. Soon she was cheerfully rummaging through the bags, humming quietly and seemingly unaware of the exhaustion on the others' faces.

"Sweet Gaia, I need a beer." Reno moaned dramatically, swaying slightly for effect. To this, Cloud had to agree. "Hey Cloud, what do you say we go get a drink, now that we've appeased the Seventh Heaven goddess?" He slung an arm over the blonde's shoulder, casually twirling his E.M.R as they made their way towards the otherwise empty bar.

"WAIT A MINUTE." The two men froze in their tracks, and in the quiet that followed, they could hear the unmistakeable sound of rubber-soled shoes tapping against the spotless floor. "Get back here, mister!" Cloud turned back to face her first, eyes widened at the sudden edge to the usually sweet bartender's voice.

"Uh oh. Good luck with that, yo." He vaguely heard Reno say, but when he glanced back, the TURK had wisely disappeared. Tifa cleared her throat impatiently.

"Cloud, this wasn't on my list!" She shook the package in question, making its contents crash from side to side rather violently. "We can't feed the kids this!" she shook her head in horror as she flipped it over to read the ingredients. "Look – it's full of awful chemicals!" she went on. "341, 529, Beetroot Red, Saccharin…" Cloud, who may have understood her better if she had suddenly reverted to Serbo-Croatian, just blinked and nodded at what he hoped were appropriate intervals until the bartender had simmered down.

"It must have fallen into the basket back at the store!" He protested, only to duck, eyes wide, as the offending package flew through the air, narrowly missing his head. "Are you sure –" he hopped out of the way as another bag was tossed in his direction, crunching slightly when it landed. " – that this stuff –" he dodged again. "– is all bad? Reno practically lives on it." He finished weakly, and cowered as Tifa took aim once more.

"My point _exactly_!" She hurled the last of the packages at him, complaining loudly about irresponsible chocobo-heads and the general uselessness of men when it came to important jobs, and this time he deftly caught it. His eyes suddenly narrowed, and then shot open wide once more as he tuned out his friend's rambling, as he recognised the chips Reno had pestered him to buy earlier.

"_Reno._" He groaned, smacking himself on the forehead and collapsing into a chair as Tifa ranted. "I should've known he would try something like that."

"_Save the world? Oh, sure, no problem! Just don't send me to buy dinner, I'll go out and buy _junk food_ instead_!"

"Tifa."

"– _Can't even remember one little thing_, _one TEENY TINY command! I even gave him a LIST, for the love of –"_

"Tifa!"

"– _do they even teach them at ShinRa, anyway? How to become obese in less than a week? Augh!"_

"Tifa, Reno must have –" he tried to explain, but Tifa, who had since worked herself up into a (womanly) temper, turned on him instead.

"Oh no you don't! I sent YOU, not Reno!" she towered over him with the extra height she had gained since he sat down, and the blonde suddenly felt more than a little afraid. "Now I have to go back and get the stuff myself – no, scratch that! From now on, _I'll _do the shopping!" she stomped out of the room, leaving Cloud alone and quite bewildered in the middle of the kitchen. A moment later he winced as he heard the door slam.

"What just happened?" he forced out, breaking the silence that had descended upon Seventh Heaven. Reno suddenly stuck his head around the kitchen door.

"She gone, yo?" he whispered, only to frown with surprise at the aggravated glare the other man shot his way. "Hey, what's your problem? I just did you a favour, yo!"

"How so?"

"Duh, didn't you hear what Tifa said? We screwed up!"

"_You_ screwed up, and I fail to see how that's a good thing."

"You're free, man! You don't have to do the shopping anymore!" Cloud blinked at this, and Reno's face split into a broad grin. "Oh, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud. It's a well-known fact that the easiest way out of doing something you don't want to do is to _screw it up_."

"You do that?" Cloud scoffed.

"Hell no!" Reno threw his hands up in front of him. "And get my ass fired? No way!" there was a brief pause, as they took in the mess Tifa had made of the kitchen during her rather violent rant. "So… you hungry?"

xxx

**8. Babysitting **(Valenwind)

"Uncle Vincent, tell me a story." Marlene begged, wide-eyed and trying desperately not to yawn. "Please." She added, in the voice she knew could melt even the coldest, cruellest heart of stone.

Vincent Valentine never stood a chance.

"It's nearly ten-thirty." He admonished, after carefully arranging his expression to resemble something at least vaguely like a frown. "Your bedtime was an hour and a half ago, and Tifa and Cloud are coming back tomorrow morning."

"But I'm not –" Marlene allowed herself the tiniest of yawns "– tired at all!" she protested. Across the hallway, she head Cid shut the door of Denzel's bedroom.

"Denzel's out like a light. So it's jes' you keepin' us awake, young lady." He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his broad chest, the cigarette in the corner of his mouth unlit, since Tifa had expressively prohibited smoking near the children.

"_Please_ Uncle Cid, just _one _story." Marlene held up a pale finger as if to emphasise her promise. "And then I'll go to sleep!" she turned back to Vincent. "I'll shake on it!" Vincent pretended to consider her proposal for a moment, before solemnly taking Marlene's small hand in his. They shook hands with a businesslike air, until Marlene giggled and snuggled back down into her blankets to get more comfortable.

"Alright, _one _story." Vincent's gaze travelled over the many books on Marlene's bookshelf.

"Tell me one about you!" the girl exclaimed suddenly. Vincent blinked at the odd request, but eventually nodded nonetheless; during his many years training as a TURK, he had learned that making things up, (or 'manipulating the truth', as it were) was a useful skill in many situations. He was fairly confident in his ability to spin what could pass for a fairly amusing tale – at least for a bedtime story.

"Well… alright. When I was your age –"

"– _In a mystical era I like to call the dark ages, when fairies existed and dinosaurs roamed the land, and men lived in trees and ate nothing but cupcakes, and microwaves hadn't been invented yet_…" Vincent turned to the madly grinning man in the doorway with a stern frown.

"Cid." The pilot stretched nonchalantly as the raven-haired man glared in his direction. "Pray tell, who is telling this story, you or me?"

"If yer gonna tell a story, you gotta make it_ interestin'_." The pilot shot back. As Vincent opened his mouth for an indignant retort, Marlene closed her eyes with a grin.

"I was just getting to the _'interesting'_ part! And for the last time, I'm not _that_ old!"

"Yer older than me, an' while I'm looking mighty fine, I'm not gettin' any younger! An' what're you shushing me f – oh." Sure enough, Marlene had fallen fast asleep, an odd half-smile on her face. "Quick, let's get outta here 'fore she wakes up again!" the pilot tugged at Vincent's sleeve urgently, his eyes wide with fear at the prospect of another hour trying to coax the little girl back to bed. Once they were out into the hallway and the door safely shut, they breathed a quiet sigh of relief in unison.

"Too bad ya never got to finish yer story." Cid shrugged. "What was it about, anyway?" he gulped as Vincent narrowed his eyes.

"Why, the time I defeated an evil fairy with nothing but my pet dinosaur and a cupcake, of _course_." The taller man replied darkly, a wrathful glint in his eyes. Cid just cackled manically as he ran for the stairs, Vincent charging vengefully after him.


	3. Forgiven

**Lint - Chapter 3**

If I owned Final Fantasy VII, I would make a Valenwind spin-off in which you get to pilot the_ Shera_, and the faster you go, the more points you get. If you drove fast enough, Cid and Vincent's clothes would fly off. True story, and I'm not sorry at all.

xxx

**9. Forgiven**

"Vince, come to bed." Cid stifled a yawn with his fist as he leaned in the doorway, one elbow against the frame to steady himself. Vincent's huddled form was swathed in blankets, but his feet poked out from underneath as they stuck over the edge of the couch. He stirred once, but didn't reply. "You're still mad at me."

It wasn't a question. Cid knew the answer perfectly well anyway. He took a step closer into the living room.

"Go 'way, Highwind." Vincent's sleepy voice growled from somewhere under the fabric covering him. Even though the only light in the room was coming from the window, where dawn wasn't quite breaking but a faint blueish haze had crept across the sky, Cid could see the taller man glaring at him through narrowed eyes. He could barely remember what their fight had been about, but unlike him, Vincent Valentine had a mercilessly sharp memory, even at ungodly hours of the morning like this.

"Can't sleep," he retorted, though he was sure he heard Vincent snort. He shuffled over to the couch and stood over his lover, hands on his hips. "An' it looks like you can't, either."

He reached out to idly brush a wayward strand of dark hair from Vincent's face, but the gunman turned his head away and rolled over, burying his face against the back of the couch. Cid rolled his eyes. "Alrigh', _fine_. I'll jus' sleep in here then," he drawled as he sat down on the floor by Vincent's temporary sleeping-place. Vincent lifted his head to protest.

"That's not fair," he said reproachfully, but the blond pilot just shrugged.

"This is my house, an' I can sleep wherever I feel like. So deal with it." He yawned again and rested his head against his lover's blanket-covered leg. "Love ya." He heard Vincent's head flop back down, and a groan of defeat from the other man.

The seconds ticked by, and soon a faint snore from somewhere by Vincent's feet told him that Cid had already fallen asleep. He kept his gaze fixed firmly on the pattern of the couch as daylight gradually filtered in through the windows, turning the walls of the living room from dull grey to the beautiful sky-blue he and Cid had spent a whole day painting it last spring. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth at the memory, though he was still angry at the blond man, he had to sternly remind himself. Finally he could take the silence no more.

"I love you too…" he muttered into the blankets, not really sure if he wanted Cid to hear him or not. "…idiot."

xxx

**10. Wark**

"YELLOW, FEATHERY SON OF A-" Cid's yell startled a flock of small birds out from the long grass into the sky. A moment later they settled, only to be driven up once more as Cloud and the rest of his motley crew trotted over on their newly-acquired Chocobos. Highwind, not particularly a good multi-tasker, was alternating between nursing a bleeding hand and swearing colourfully and shaking his fist at a rapidly disappearing yellow speck in the distance.

"Did you toss him some Gyshal greens?" Tifa enquired kindly. Cid just scowled in return, even when she handed him a potion.

"Yes," he growled, "I tossed him some damn _greens_." The next few minutes were filled with the sound of muffled grunts from the pilot as he fumbled around with his remaining good hand, trying to heal himself, while Cloud shifted impatiently in his saddle, staring pointedly towards the horizon in the direction the group was meant to be heading. Cid, once he was sure that he wasn't about to bleed to death, just gave a resigned sort of sigh and lit up a cigarette. "It's no use," he shrugged as Nanaki came and sat beside him. "Those feathery bastards jus' don't like me. See, _this _is why I like flying. You don't get these problems with planes." Nanaki nodded in agreement and scratched his ear with his foot, his own equivalent of a shrug.

"I, too, have never gotten on well with Chocobos," he said matter-of-factly. "Though I admit I've always thought of them more as food than friends." Cid grimaced. "Might I suggest you ride behind someone else?" Nanaki went on, oblivious to the pilot's reaction. Cid wasn't really listening anymore, though – instead, he'd reverted to staring at his four legged comrade in a thoughtful sort of way. "…Ahem? Is there something wrong?"

"How… strong are you, Red?" Cid began, stroking the stubble on his chin with his thumb. Nanaki narrowed his eyes.

"Fairly strong. Why?" there was an unmistakable hint of defensiveness in his reply. Noting the glistening razor sharp teeth on display whenever Nanaki opened his mouth, Cid opted for a less direct approach.

"Oh, no reason. It's jes' you an' I seem to have something in common after all," he gave a casual chuckle. "Who'd have thought it, eh? Maybe we should, uh, stick together. Y'know, look out fer each other." Nanaki lowered his head to fix the blonde with a long, hard stare.

"What's your point, Highwind?" Cid gulped and nervously wiped away the beads of perspiration that had formed on his brow with the back of his hand.

"Can I… uh… c'nirideyou?" he forced out in a single breath. Shera had once told him that nodding at someone when making a suggestion made them more likely to agree with you – he had no clue as to whether this worked or not, but Nanaki was not looking very agreeable at all, so he bobbed his head up and down furiously.

There was a moment of silence between the pair, then Nanaki abruptly stood up and stalked away, leaving Cid sitting on his own nodding to himself. "Damn," he muttered, and clambered to his feet. "guess I'll have to share someone's else's stupid bird."

He gazed from ally to ally, wrinkling his nose with displeasure. No way in hell was he going to share with one of the girls – what kind of man rode Chocobo-back behind a _woman, _anyway? – so that only left the three other men – discounting Nanaki, of course.

There was easily enough room on Cloud's chocobo for two, but Cid grimaced nonetheless. The spiky-haired leader was still glowering at an obscure spot on the horizon, and the idea of asking him for a lift was about as attractive as being trampled by a rampaging dual horn… or chocobo, for that matter.

Barret's mount was a scraggly-looking creature that was obviously struggling to bear the bulky man's weight on his own, let alone with another fully grown man on the back. Somehow Cid didn't think the request would go down too well with the AVALANCHE leader.

…Then there was the mysterious caped man they had recently unearthed in the depths of the mansion in Nibelheim. It might have been something to do with his smoking habits, or maybe his irrepressible potty mouth, or perhaps even the remark Cid had made to Yuffie about grave-robbing being exactly the opposite of cradle-robbing… but the pilot had a sneaking suspicion that Vincent Valentine didn't like him much.

Even so, the man looked like he barely weighed anything, and there was plenty of room on the chocobo for the both of them… he was also less likely to laugh right in Cid's face outright – in fact, the man didn't seem to do much of anything, besides stare into space and mope. Ever the optimist, Cid shrugged and sauntered over to where Vincent sat atop his mount, frowning at nothing in particular.

"Hey there," he held up a hand in greeting, but Vincent just stared down at him dully, barely even acknowledging the shorter man. Cid repressed a shiver – it probably came from being stuck in a casket all by himself for nearly three decades, but the man's unblinking, oddly hued gaze still unnerved him. It was the kind of gaze that compelled him to keep talking, just to break the awkward silence between them. "How 'bout those chocobos, eh?" he went on, shoving his hands into his pockets casually.

"You want to ride behind me." Cid's jaw dropped, before he realised the gunman's response had been a statement rather than a question.

"You overheard me 'n Nanaki." Vincent nodded his head, and though most of his face was hidden behind his cape and behind a veil of black hair, Cid could have sworn he saw a glint of amusement in his gaze that hadn't been there before. "Well, you gunna give me a ride or what?" Vincent didn't reply to this, but inched forward in his saddle just enough to let the pilot scramble up behind him.

The chocobo, who had leaned down and was happily peck at a nearby tussock, gave a startled 'wark!' as Cid planted himself heavily on its back. Now it wriggled and flapped its stubby wings, trying to dislodge the sudden heavy weight on its back.

"KEEP STILL, BIRD-BRAIN!" Cid bellowed as Vincent struggled to keep the chocobo in place, slipping from side to side and hanging on to the taller man's cape for dear life. Startled by the yell, the chocobo evidently decided that enough was enough, and shook himself violently, sending first the cursing pilot, then the gunman he was clutching crashing to the ground with a mighty 'thud'.

Cid Highwind remained face-down on the ground amongst the smell of damp earth, blades of grass tickling his nose. It was surprisingly peaceful there, without the glare of the sun to aggravate his aching head, or the scornful glare Cloud was undoubtedly aiming at him, or. It would be a good place to stay for a while, he decided. Even with Yuffie's giggles and the fading _wark_s of the fleeing chocobo in the background… and Vincent's menacing hiss of "_what_ did you call me?" in his ear.


End file.
